HealthDay Reports: David Shulkin, M.D., on COVID-19 Financial Consequences for Health Care System
Dr. David Shulkin, who served as ninth secretary for Veterans Affairs and is the former president and CEO of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, shares his thoughts on how coronavirus has impacted the health care system in America.
David Shulkin, M.D., on COVID-19 Financial Consequences for Health Care System
MONDAY, April 27, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Health care organizations are facing hard financial decisions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but an end is in sight as some are beginning to slowly open back up around the country, according to David Shulkin, M.D. Shulkin, who served as ninth secretary for Veterans Affairs and is former president and CEO of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, spoke with HealthDay during a live stream on the HealthDay YouTube channel and live blog.
"There is no doubt that our hospitals, health systems, and health care providers in general have taken a significant financial hit during this crisis," Shulkin said. Most health care systems have appropriately stopped performing elective procedures, many practices and ambulatory facilities have completely closed, and patients have refrained from going to hospitals because of infection concerns. "In general, the average hospital has seen about a 40 to 45 percent decrease in operating revenue during this period of time," Shulkin added. Ambulatory surgery centers and radiology centers have seen even greater declines.
In total, Shulkin estimates that health care provider revenue has reduced about $500 billion across the country and that the two federal stimulus bills will provide about $175 billion -- or 35 percent -- of that lost revenue.